by Mit ThakkarThe ability to write robust reports is one of the most effective tools for communicating with customers. A pen tester can significantly benefit from this when communicating what they have done when testing hardened applications. A report can be written to describe the maturity level of the application, how various attack attempts were blocked or offset, and what kind of work was done during this engagement.
Nevertheless, many people fail to include key items in their penetration reports, significantly reducing their application’s effectiveness.
However, this will no longer be an issue after reading our ten essential items list. In fact, these suggestions will set you apart from the rest.
So, let’s examine the necessary components of the report one by one.
What Is Penetration Testing?
A penetration test reveals the vulnerabilities in the underlying network of a company. A security insight is presented or illustrated based on vulnerability testing results. A penetration/vulnerability test can take several forms based on the need and request of the company.
The penetration testing scope includes external penetration testing, internal penetration testing, segmentation testing, white box, gray box, and black box penetration testing.
What Is A Penetration Testing Report?
Penetration test reports identify and focus on the vulnerabilities the pen testing team identified during engagements. Reports contain information on vulnerabilities, impacts, root causes, and mitigations for every vulnerability issue.
Stages Of Penetration Testing Report Generation
1. Report planning: This begins with a brief overview of pen testing, its benefits, and purpose. The report also includes the testing process’s duration, classification, identification, and distribution of the results.
2. Data gathering: It is essential that the pen tester gathers accurate information on each step of the investigation. All the details must be collected and documented during the testing phase, including various tools used, threats assessed, and test results.
3. Creating an initial draft: The initial draft is the first step in deploying, processing, and concluding all activities. It is essential to be precise with the initial draft’s findings and observations regarding security.
4. Revision and finalization: Drafters must review and recheck the initially drafted information to ensure it is accurate. Following that, it must be passed through the other technical hands of the experts who assisted with the process.
Also Read – Best Practices for Mobile App Penetration Testing
12 Items An Effective Penetration Report Should Have
1. Objective
Each client has a particular set of needs. This section aims to define the means and actions that can be taken to meet that need.
2. Scope
An organization’s “scope” comprises the applications, users, networks, devices, accounts, and other assets that must be tested to meet its objectives.
Incorrectly defined objectives, time constraints, or budget constraints deprive scope. Conversely, ‘over scoping’ can also cause challenges, such as overspending or disproportionate impact on operations. So, keeping these statements in mind is the best way to make scope.
3. Limitations
This section generally addresses threats posed by unauthorized persons who wish to gain forbidden access to data or systems within an organization.
4. Executive Summary
An executive summary should give a very brief overview of the major findings that you discovered during your work on the application. There should be no more than two pages in this document or sub-report, and it should only cover the highlights of the penetration test.
It is crucial to note that the executive summary does not provide technical information or related terminology.
The report needs to be written in a way that is understandable to board members and nontechnical management, so they can comprehend your findings and the concerns you discovered with the network and systems as a result of your investigation.
The executive summary also must describe how these vulnerabilities and exploits will likely impact the business if discovered.
It is recommended that the executive summary include links and references to the detailed report so that interested parties can learn more about the technical nature of the findings.
Keep in mind that the executive summary should be very brief and written at a high level. The scope and purpose of the test should also be outlined, along with a risk rating for the organization.
Also Read – Penetration Testing Vs. Vulnerability Scanning: Know The Difference
5. Penetration Testing Team
Clients often need the names and contact information of the individuals who actually participated in a penetration test for security compliance reasons. The information may include name, email address, and internal phone number.
Whether or not it’s a compliance requirement, it provides organizations with an easier way to search for the tester’s information. Next time ensure that your penetration testing consulting services provider includes this information while preparing a report.
6. Penetration Testing Tools Used
Some stakeholders won’t be interested in learning about all the tools you use. Still, the IT team or developers may need to understand the tools used as they begin to investigate and remediate some of the findings. The organization will reproduce the results more quickly if they can understand the tools used to conduct the original research.
7. Technical Risk Factors
A description of security vulnerabilities must include technical details. Otherwise, IT staffers may not have the necessary direction in developing effective solutions; however, this information must be contextualized and clarified so that all readers understand the nature of these risks.
In the healthcare sector, for instance, files uploaded through its portal may be susceptible to an attack; however, explaining the technical process by which an attack could occur without mentioning things like remotely executing “arbitrary code” is insufficient to explain the security flaw.
The report should always include language explaining what this means to the business (for example, “this means hackers will be able to view the medical records of any user if they act as administrators). In other words, the explanation of business impact plays a crucial role in the report’s usefulness.
Note: Your report explanation of the vulnerability(s) and a walk-through allows the team to replicate the vulnerability and gain a deeper understanding of it.
Also Read – 5 Advanced Penetration Testing Techniques Every QA Professional Should Know
8. Vulnerability Impacts
A risk can be divided into two categories: likelihood and potential impact. The likelihood is a standard component of most assessment reports. Although the odds of exploitation are important, but they are insufficient to determine the risk level.
Executives need to be able to understand how any vulnerability, no matter where it exists, will affect their application. So, give an explanation of how you discovered the vulnerabilities, how a hacker could exploit them, and how these vulnerabilities could be controlled.
Make sure the vulnerability part of your report is short and preferably written in a way that security professionals, developers, and nontechnical roles can understand.
All in all, an effective report should factor in both the likelihood and potential impact of the exploitation to create a comprehensive picture of the risk.
9. Vulnerability Remediation Options
A report should provide remediation steps or options after discussing vulnerabilities and their potential impacts. Understanding the steps and procedures involved with the remediation plan can assist organizations in knowing how to implement it.
Remember, the best penetration testing companies constantly seek to find solutions that provide the most value when it comes to penetration testing cost and control. Therefore, the importance of this point cannot be overstated.
10. Operated Methodologies
There is great importance in understanding the methodology employed in penetration testing, particularly for your IT staff members.
Testing can be carried out manually or automatically as a starting point.
A manual penetration test, as the name implies, involves a human being, specifically an expert engineer tasked with carrying out the test.
Generally, manual testing is characterized by methods such as data collection, vulnerability assessment, actual exploits (in which the tester actually launches an attack to expose vulnerabilities), and presenting the results of the testing.
Depending on the type of manual testing, it can be focused—on testing for specific vulnerabilities or for a wide range of issues.
Compared to manual testing, automated penetration testing is faster, more effective, requires less time, and, in general, is more reliable. Automated testing can be done using several renowned standards or internally developed standards.
Among the available measures are the following:
- OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project)
- OSSTMM (Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual)
- NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Also Read – Key Stages of Penetration Testing
11. Images
By using images in your pen test report, you can provide additional context to what is being reported, making it easier for you to follow along. Furthermore, they can also be helpful when an issue cannot be reproduced in a controlled environment.
It is possible to explain a problem without images in some cases adequately. For example, if the finding can be verified using a command-line tool, it should be included in the output.
Other times, a browser or graphical testing tool visually represents what’s happening. By doing so, you can quickly draw attention to what is being described.
12. Links To References
Occasionally, you may want to dig deeper into the technical details and remediation recommendations in your pen test report to understand better the vulnerability than what is provided in the report.
Therefore, excellent penetration testing service providers will always reference trusted third-party sources like OWASP or NIST in their report.
What is the significance of penetration testing report?
A penetration test report is an important document that should be provided after a penetration test has been performed for your organization.
Penetration testing services in UK deliver this report as their main deliverable. You can use it to understand what was reported and how to resolve the problems. You can change your security systems meaningfully based on the details it provides.
Remember finding a penetration testing service or company like KiwiQA that can provide you with the most accurate report is essential.
Also Read – Security Testing vs. Penetration Testing
Extra Tip
A pilot’s job doesn’t end when they land an airliner. Because they must still navigate the many taxiways and park safely at the gate. The same holds for your pen test reports. Just because they’re done doesn’t mean you can switch them off completely. You still need to deliver the report to the client securely.
It is probably best to distribute electronic documents using public key cryptography, but it is not always possible. In that case, a strong key must be transmitted out of the band if symmetric encryption is used. There should never be an unencrypted transmission of a report.
Even though it all seems like common sense, many still fail when it comes to implementing it. It is, therefore, vital that you make this a habit.
Final Words
We hope that by now, you have gained a better understanding of what penetration reports are and how they work.
Armed with this information at your disposal, you will be able to impress your organization. Hence, make sure you always include these points in your reports.
